Sony Alpha SLT-A37K Pro Reviews

As this a budget model costing a very reasonable £499 with the 18-55mm standard zoom supplied on test, we don’t get the top plate function window found on semi pro models, but we are provided with a shooting mode dial crammed with 12 manual and automatic picture enhancing controls, including panorama and 3D stills option. Again this is more than we’d normally expect at this price point. Add in colour-rich, well-defined images and smooth 50fps video capture and you can’t go wrong.

The Sony A37 may sit at the bottom of Sony's SLT line-up, but for many people this could be the only camera that they'll ever need. We wish that the LCD screen was slightly bigger, had double the resolution and could be tilted sideways as well as up and down, but we're struggling to think of anything else that's negative to say about what is after all "only" an entry-level camera. This is simply one of the most capable beginner DSLRs on the market, and therefore fully deserving of our coveted Essential! award.

Designed to a budget, but there's a lot to like about this unusual SLR-like camera

The Sony Alpha A37 adds a tilting screen compared to the A35, although unfortunately it's smaller and a lower resolution than the A35 - this is partially made up for by the increase in viewfinder resolution, which is now 1.44million dots. The Sony Alpha A37 is an extremely capable Digital SLR / SLT that produces excellent images with bright saturated colour and very good detail. The camera may have a few short comings, and it's a shame that the high speed shooting mode is cropped to 8.4 megapixels, instead of shooting at the full resolution, however the quick focusing and excellent value for money quickly make up for this. The camera has an abundance of features, including built in image stabilisation, Full HD video with stereo sound and a microphone socket, as well as a tilting screen - features not normally seen on budget DSLRs. The camera feels great, working as expected with a good number of controls and buttons giving quick access to settings. The camera's small size works in its favour as well by making the camera easy to pick up and take with you. The Sony Alpha A37 delivers excellent images with low noise and great colour making it a brilliant choice for anyone looking for a fast compact Digital SLR.

The A37 is a patchwork of other Sony SLT cameras past and present. Its ultimate goal: to be as budget as possible. And it achieves that with bells on. But not only is it affordable, the A37 is also a great camera. The continuous autofocus system will outdo anything at a similar price point, and the same can be said for movie mode’s swift autofocus (just a shame it’s 50i, not 50p). Then there’s the 7fps burst shooting mode that’s unrivalled for this kind of money. Sure the small screen and electronic viewfinder might not suit all, and the limited battery life is an annoyance, but these amount to the cost to pay for a fast, techy camera. The A37 is a viable DSLR alternative; it’s a DSLR beater in many respects and epitomises how far the apparent “entry level” market has come in just a few short years.

When the Sony A57 came in the larger A65 skin, we wondered whether Sony had abandoned the tiny body found in last year's A55 and A35, but that small body lives on in the slightly upgraded Sony A37. Sony made the body small partly to show off what removing the mirror box and pentamirror arrangement enabled: a smaller camera with SLR-like capabilities. It seems some buyers, though, wanted something about the size of what the competition was offering at the same price point, hence the A57's larger body. But it still makes some sense for Sony to make their entry level camera small, to continue offering some SLT power to consumers with smaller hands.

Our time with the camera indicated that its autofocus performance was fast and accurate, something we'll be keen to fully put through its paces when we get a full production DSLT in for review. There's a number of interesting features that we'll be keen to analyse further, such as how the camera performs at high sensitivities and the accuracy of the Auto Portrait framing mode. For beginners, there's an awful lot of choice out there at the moment. Sony's approach to capturing this very lucrative market is unique, and one of the most interesting options for novices. There's a lot to tempt those users, and as the number of lenses and accessories for Alpha cameras increases, we can see the system continuing to grow its market share - something that Nikon and Canon must surely be keenly aware of.

The A37 is a solid entry-level, dSLR-class camera that will serve anyone on a tight budget who's looking for something to shoot active kids and pets.

The A37 is more interesting camera for the marketing department than it probably was for Sony's engineers - it's essentially familiar parts and technologies assembled in an order that helps make the company's camera line-up make more sense. But this doesn't mean it's not an interesting camera for potential customers. After all, the result of effective marketing is a product that well suits the needs and expectations of a particular group of customers. The A37 offers access to one of the best sensors on the market, combined with a host of user-friendly features that no other brand offers. Add to this the SLT technology that we think does a great job of providing DSLR capability with a shooting experience that will be immediately familiar to compact camera shooters. The result is an impressively small, well-specified camera at a price that significantly under-cuts most of its rivals.